Laminated tip for skis



Jan. 7, 1941. H. McL. DAVIDSON I LAMINATED TIP FOR SKIS Original Filed Aug. 4, 1938 Ham/5h M Leod Dam 50,7

Patented Jan. 7, 1941 UNITED STATES LAMINATED TIP FOR SKIS Hamish McLeod Davidson, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Original application August 4, 1938, Serial No. 223,093. Divided and this application May 22,

1940, Serial No. 336,670

6 Claims.

10 in a ski structure a reinforcing insert which is adapted to be adhesively secured within the body of the ski at the point where the ski is sub: jected to un'due strain so as to reinforce the ski at the point of greatest stress.

15 A further object of this invention is to provide in a ski structure a composition insert or lamination which is adapted to extend inwardly from one end of the ski and which extends from one side to the other, the lamination being adhe- 20 sively secured to the adjacent surfaces of the ski. A still further object of this invention is to provide in combination a ski body which maybe made out of a single piece of material, such as wood or the like and tgembed a reinforcing 25 means in the form of a composition lamination within the body of the ski adjacent one or both ends thereof so as to reinforce the ski and prevent either longitudinal or transverse splitting of the ski body. 30 To the foregoing objects and to others which may hereinafter appear, the invention consists of the novel construction, combination and ar rangement of parts as will be more specifically referred to and illustrated in the accompanying 35 drawing, but it is to be understood that changes, variations and modifications may be resorted to which fall within the scope of the invention as claimed.

In the drawing:

40 Figure l is a detail side elevation of a ski constructed according to an embodiment of this-invention,

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal section of the tip or front end of the ski.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal sectionof the rear end of the ski,

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 2, and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary side elevation of the 50 forward end of the ski prior to the bending of central portion II will normally be spaced from a horizontal line drawn from the rear portion I! to the tip portion H. The body portion ll may be formed from a single piece of wood which may be steamed or otherwise bent so as to pro- 5 vide a central arch with the concave side thereof lowermost at substantially the center of the ski.

The body ll tapers in the direction of the opposite ends thereof and at the rear portion l2 the ski is subtantially enlarged, as at l5, so as to provide a relatively thick rear or trailing portion. The rear portion 12 is formed with a slot l6 extending inwardly, at a downward inclination froin the rear end and terminating at a point rearwardly from the forward end of rear portion 15 92. That part of the rearportion l2 disposed over the upper side wall of the slot I6 is of greater thickness throughout than that part of rear portion l2 arranged below the lower side wall of the slot Hi. The latter opens at the side edges and rear end of the ski-body. The slot l6 gradually decreases in width from its outer open end to its closed inner end. The slot l6 may be formed by either splitting the rear portion l2 transversely and then opening the slit portion so as to provide a space within which a reinforcing insert I1 is adapted to be positioned, or the slot may be formed by sawing. This insert ll extends from one side of the ski to the other and is formed of a fibrous composition. The insert ll is then provided withan adhesive on the upper and lower surfaces thereof and placed in the slot l8 and the rear portion [2 of the ski is then clamped together so as to tightly secure the reinforcing member ll within the rear portion l2 of the ski. The adhesive used in securing the insert I5 is preferably a water proof adhesive and may be either a cold waterproof glue or a hot press glue.

The ski II] at the tip end I4 is provided with; a slot or opening l8, which extends inwardly from' the terminal or front end of the ski 10' and terminates at a point slightly rearward of the forward end of the arched portion l3 and rearwardly of the upwardly curved portion I9. The slot I8 is of uniform width and opens at the side edges and at the forward end of the skibody. That part of the ski-body arranged above the upper wall of the slot I8 gradually increasing in thickness from its transverse center towards each end thereof and such part is of greater thickness than that part of the ski-body arranged below the lower wall of slot l8. That part of the ski-body arranged below the lower wall of the slot I8 is substantially of uniform thickness and of lessthickness than the ski-body arranged above the slot IS. A fibrous insert 20 is placed within the slot l8 and this insert or reinforcing member 20 is tightly secured within the top portion H by adhesive 2! and 22 which engages the lower and upper surfaces of the insert 20 and also the adjacent faces of the tip H within the slot l8. The reinforcing insert 20 not only prevents longitudinal splitting of the tip I l of ing this reinforcing member 20 within the top portion of the ski, the ski will be formed with a laminated tip which will reinforce the ski at the point of greatest stress. The composition 2|! is of such a construction that it will not readily split or tear, being formed of wood fibers which are formed into a sheet under high compression and this sheet is then treated in such a manner that it will not swell under moisture conditions.

In Figure 5 there is disclosed the initial step in the method of producing a ski with a reinforced tip. This ski is initially split at the forward or tip end either by a splitting tool or a saw so as to form the slot l8 and then the longitudinal arch may be formed by steaming in a press. The insert 20 is then placed in the slot l8 and the insert 20 preferably has positioned on the opposite faces thereof the adhesive 2| and 22. The tip end of the ski i0 is then placed in a press so as to bend the tip H on a curve reverse from the longitudinal arch and at the same time the bent and compressed tip is subjected to heat where hot press glue is used, so that the adhesive 2|, 22 will firmly secure the insert 20 within the slot I8. This slot l8 preferably has at least one face thereof substantially parallel with a face of the ski III, as shown in the drawing. The insert 20 in the tip end of the ski will thus not only hold the tip I 4 in its upwardly bent form, but will also prevent both longitudinal and transverse splitting of the ski. By 'making the ski in accordance with this method it is not necessary to subject the ski to several steaming operations in order to form the several bends in the ski, as is at present the case.

Through the provision of the two inserts l1 and 20, the ski I0 is reinforced in such a manner that it will not split at the ends where the greatest stress occurs and in addition these inserts will not add any additional weight to the ski so that the ski may be properly balanced and also formed of a single piece of wood thereby providing a relative cheap ski structure, which at the same time is reinforced in such, a manner that it will withstand the normal strains to which a ski is subjected.

What I claim is:

1. A ski comprising an elongated one-piece member, an upwardly arched tip integral with said elongated member and provided with an elongated rearwardly extending slot parallel with and inwardly of the upper and lower surfaces thereof, and a compressed substantially rigid fibrous reinforcing lamination adhesively embedded in said slot.

2. A ski comprising an elongated one-piece body having upwardly curved opposite ends, and a compressed substantially rigid fibrous reinforcing lamination embedded in at least one end of the body and adhesively secured therein, said lamination extending from one side of the body to the other side'band coating ,to maintain said one end in curved position while simultaneously holding the body against transverse and longitudinal splitting.

3.'A ski comprising an elongated one-piece body having an upwardly curved forward end, said body having an elongated slot'therein extending from the terminal end of said forward end and terminating within the forward portion of the longitudinal. arch of the body, and compressed substantially rigid fibrous reinforcing lamination adhesively embedded in said slot and coacting to hold said forward end in curved position while simultaneously holding said forward end against longitudinal or transverse splitting.

4. A ski comprising an elongated body formed of a single length of wood, said body including an arched portion merging into a curved tip portion, and a compressed substantially rigid fibrous reinforcing lamination respectively embedded in and throughout said tip portion and in a part of said arched portion, said lamination being flush with the side edges and the leading end of said body.

5. A ski comprising an elongated body formed of a single length of wood, said body including an arch-shaped portion and an upwardly curved forward terminal portion merging at its rear end into the forward end of said arch-shaped portion, said body being formed with a transverse slit between opposite faces thereof extending from the free end of said terminal portion to a point rearwardly of said end of said archshaped portion, a compressed relatively rigid fibrous reinforcing insert arranged within and completely filling said slit, and adhesive means for securing opposite faces of the insert throughout to the walls of the slit to thereby provide for reinforcing the said forward terminal portion and the forward portion of the arch-shaped porion.

6. A ski comprising an elongated body formed of a single length of material, said body having an upcurved leading part, an upcurved trailing part oppositely disposed with respect to the leading part and an arch-shaped part of greater length than and disposed between and merging into said other parts, a compressed fibrous reinforcing means common to said leading part and the forward portion of said arch-shaped part, said reinforcing means arranged within, secured to and disposed in transverse relation with respect to said leading part and said portion of said arch-shaped part, said means extending completely through said leading part, and a compressed fibrous reinforcing means arranged within, secured to, disposed transversely of, of less length than and arranged at a downward inclination from rear to front with respect 

